T'was The Night Before Christmas
by Kelspook
Summary: There's an air crash on Christmas Eve, and someone absolutely vital to a successful Christmas gets hurt. Who will take his place until he's better?
1. Chapter 1

**T'was The Night Before Christmas and all through the Hub….**

It was Christmas Eve, and Ianto had called Jack down to the cells. Unfortunately to his great disappointment, it was because there was something wrong.

"See? She hasn't moved for hours."

Jack peered into the cell. Janet was lying curled up on her side on the shelf, eyes tightly shut and little snores were issuing from the pinched, bestial nostrils. He raised an eyebrow in amazement.

"She never sleeps!"

"I know," said Ianto worriedly, "Even when there's no one around she's always awake and mooching about in here. She sleeps even less than you, and I didn't think that was possible." He glanced over at Jack. "As she always knows when you get into smelling distance- she really, really doesn't like your smell."

"Nothing wrong with how I smell." Jack replied, somewhat defensively. "I always smell great!"

"Well, I like it, but she doesn't….."

"Okay, and getting back to the matter in hand." Jack sucked air in through his teeth, stepping back from the cell and folding his arms across his chest. "So how long has she been sleeping?"

"Six hours."

"And she didn't do anything weird first?" Jack fixed Ianto with a stern eye. "Did you let Owen feed her? He's been trying to get her drunk for months… thinks it'll be funny."

"No, not really, and no, of course I didn't let Owen feed her!" Ianto replied indignantly. "I went back through the CCTV footage; she looked straight up, made a weird noise then circled about a bit, curled up on the shelf and fell asleep. Up to then she was behaving just like she always does."

"Weird." A slow, mischievous grin was spreading across Jack's face. "So, t'was the night before Christmas, and all through the Hub-"

"No! Don't say it! You know it's a jinx if you-"

"Not a creature was stirring, not even Janet!" Jack finished, breaking into laughter.

"-say stuff like that…." Ianto finished with a sigh.

Of course, just as Ianto was directing a baleful glare at his boss, the rift alarm started blaring through the building.

They took off at a run to get back up to the main part of the Hub, and as they went Ianto shot the older man another reproachful look.

"What?"

"Nothing."

*****

As they emerged into the main part of the building, Tosh was working furiously away at her station, Gwen and Owen standing behind her.

"So what have we got?" said Jack, striding up to the group.

"A massive inverse rift spike just outside the city." Tosh kept tapping away at her keyboard, staring intently at the screen.

"Typical this is," Gwen muttered. "I'd shut down my computer, was just going to head home, Rhys has a lovely Christmas Eve dinner planned… He's going to go bloody bonkers."

"I'm sure you'll be able to pacify him, PC Cooper…" smirked Owen.

"Shut up Owen, you're such a smug git sometimes…"

"Well, Merry Christmas to you too."

Cocking his head in Jack's direction, Ianto murmured "Blame him."

"What did you do, Jack?" Hands on hips, Gwen fixed him with her best police constable glare.

"What? Me? I didn't do anything!" He did, however, have the grace to look slightly guilty as he cleared his throat and leaned towards Tosh. "Inverse spike? We don't get many of those."

Ianto quietly said to Gwen, "He jinxed us. Again."

"Gah," she said, slapping her forehead with her hand. "He promised he wouldn't do that any more…"

"Do you two mind?" Jack turned back to Tosh. "So?"

"The monitors are going mad all over the place now." Tosh pushed her glasses more firmly onto her nose, and then peered back at the screen. "The inverse spike flared up somewhere around Llancarfan, and it's as though something is trying to fight with the rift. I have no idea what happened out there, but it's caused a serious imbalance. It seems to be stabilising, but there's no guarantees."

Ianto had gone over to one of the other computers as he'd seen a red flag pop up.

"Interesting- A report has just gone into the police that something has fallen out of the sky and crashed…. at Llancarfan." He looked up. "Doubt it's a coincidence."

Jack quickly made some decisions. "Okay, we have to go check it out. No normal plane crash would make the rift act this way, so let's not take any chances. Tosh, you stay here and monitor the activity in the area, let us know if anything changes. Gwen, get onto the police. I want that crash site cordoned and no one, and I mean no one is to go near it until we've looked it over."

He shrugged into his coat as Ianto magically appeared with it. "Ianto, get the SUV and meet us up top." Ianto nodded and quickly headed out.

Gwen had finished speaking into the phone and rejoined them. "Cordon is sorted. I should warn you though Jack, Detective Swanson is NOT happy."

"Is she ever happy where we're concerned? She'll get over it." Jack shrugged as he hooked his Bluetooth over his ear. "Better annoyed at me than dead or worse. Let's go."

*****

As they crested a rise, they could see blue lights flashing in the distance. Tosh was in constant contact, and had assured them that the rift activity had subsided into the occasional hiccup. As they got closer, Gwen could see the police vehicle blocking the road, and could make out figures moving around, the reflective strips on high-vis jackets glowing brilliantly in the SUV's headlights.

Ianto pulled up just beyond the police car, and the team jumped out. Squinting, Gwen could make out Andy Davidson, rubbing his hands and hunching his neck into his collar against the cold. He grinned as he saw her, and nodded to Jack, Owen and Ianto.

"Don't get much time off, do you?"

"Not in this job, no." Gwen smiled. "So what was seen?"

"Not a lot. Certainly sounds like one of your spooky dos. Bright thing came winging in over the hill, crashed down there," he turned and pointed down into the dip, at an area screened by trees. A dim red glow could just be seen through the thick vegetation. "Don't worry though, nobody's been near," he finished, glancing nervously at Jack.

"Good. Come on team, let's go." Jack pulled up his collar against the cold, and strode off down the hill, the others following. As they got closer, all four drew their side arms and clicked on torches. Soon they were pushing their way through the trees, and occasionally stumbling over roots.

"Christ it's thick in here!" said Owen, kicking out savagely at a bramble that he was convinced was trying to rip his leg off.

"Quiet!" snapped Jack. "There could be anything in there."

The red glow was getting brighter. As they got closer they could hear someone groaning in pain, and Jack was the first to break out through the underbrush and see what had landed in the clearing. He stopped dead, absolutely stunned. For the first time in a very long time, Jack Harkness was speechless.

Owen staggered out behind him, followed by Gwen and Ianto.

All four stared, torchlight flickering over the crash scene.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me…" breathed Owen.

"Erm," said Ianto. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"

"Depends." shrugged Owen. "Are you seeing a dead elf, a load of reindeer, one of them with a glowing nose? And a broken sledge? Oh and a moaning, big fat beardy bloke tangled up in the wreckage?"

"Yep."

"Well, that's what I'm seeing too."

"Thank god for that."

Jack moved forward, Webley at the ready. Ianto hissed at him.

"Jack, you can't shoot him. You can't shoot Santa!" the young Welshman had pulled out a sensor unit, and was looking intently at the display. "Looks safe enough, can't detect anything dangerous, anyway."

Jack shot Ianto an exasperated look and shook his head. "I'm not gonna shoot him, not unless he does something to make me. Owen, go check him out."

"Santa." Gwen shook her head incredulously. "So, this is what we're saying is it? Santa has crashed just outside Cardiff, out by Llancaran."

"You got a better explanation, I'd love to hear it." said Jack.

******

Owen looked up from where he was crouching over the fallen figure. They'd extricated him from the damaged sled, carefully laid him out flat, and he wasn't groaning anymore. Owen snapped off his gloves as he straightened up.

"He's hurt, not too badly, but I need to get him back to the Hub so I can treat him properly. Seems human, but I won't know for sure until I get him under the scanners."

Gwen joined him. "Has he said anything?"

"Nah, unconscious. Probably passed out when we moved him, that leg looks painful. Think he's taken a fair knock to the head, too."

Jack looked around, seeing a dirt track leading into the clearing from the opposite side of the wood. "We should be able to get the SUV down here, but what about that?" he said, pointing at the sled and the subdued group of animals still harnessed to it. The one with the glowing nose seemed particularly mournful.

"The police have a van, the sled should fit." Ianto looked thoughtful. "And we passed a farm on the way, about a mile back. Bet they've got a trailer. Rudolph and his pals should be comfy enough."

Jack shot him a questioning look. "Rudolph?"

Ianto shrugged. "What else am I going to call him? Poor bugger looks so sad, too…"

Jack decided that there was no point trying to continue the conversation, no matter what he said, Ianto would call it what he felt like. And the animal _did_ look pretty sad, to be fair.

"Okay, let's make it happen."


	2. Chapter 2

About an hour later, they'd finally made it back to the Hub. The police hadn't been too happy about their van being commandeered to transport the sled, but the farmer had been extremely pleased to hire out a small livestock trailer for a few hours. The dead elf had been stored in one of the fridges in the autopsy bay, and the survivor was lying on the exam table, which had groaned slightly under his weight as they'd transferred him onto it.

Owen looked up as Jack and Gwen came into the bay.

"He'll live."

"Glad to hear it." Jack stopped at the top rail, leaning his hands against it. "So how is he?"

"Pretty banged up, reckon he hit pretty hard. Leg is definitely broken, but I've set it." he turned and brought up an image on the screen behind him. "Funny thing is, it's healing pretty fast- he seems human, blood work backs that up, but the break is knitting already. Not as quick as you, Jack, but still way faster than it should. Head injury is already nearly gone. Only weird thing is a slight abnormality in his DNA, but I can't see anything that would explain this."

"How long do you think it'll take?" asked Gwen.

"At this rate, his leg should be usable in about 5 hours, and that femur was snapped clean in two."

Jack gave a low whistle, and straightened up, jamming his hands into his pockets. "Okay. Let me know if he wakes up."

Gwen and Jack headed back into the main section, leaving Owen to get on with looking after his patient.

Tosh looked up from her screen as they approached. "The fluctuations have moved here now." She brought up a display. "Centred in two definite locations- the autopsy bay, and the storage area that we put the sled into."

"So the crash is definitely the source," said Jack, frowning.

"Absolutely." Tosh tapped a few more keys. "But it's subsiding, almost down to background levels. I also had a quick look at the sled when you brought it in- it seems to have some sort of antigravity generator built in. I would say that when it's active the field will extend out in front of it a fair way."

"So that's how it flies, huh?" said Jack, leaning over her shoulder to look interestedly at the screen. "What's this?"

"That's the very interesting bit." Tosh was beginning to get animated. "I can't be completely sure, but I think there's some sort of temporal circuit. If I'm right, it creates a kind of time dilation field around the sled, reindeer and occupants."

"Which means?" asked Gwen, looking puzzled.

"It means that time will move differently inside the field," said Jack, nodding as he tapped his wristband. "I detected temporal flux at the scene. So d'you think we can we fix it?"

Tosh nodded. "I think so. It looks like the damage to it is mostly cosmetic, and the systems have simply gone dormant."

Ianto had reappeared with a tray of coffees. "Here we are then."

"Did you get the reindeer settled?" asked Gwen, smiling gratefully as she accepted her steaming mug.

"Oh yes, they're happy as Larry down there. Set up some partitions, lots of nice warm straw, and they've been fed. Even Rudolph is looking a bit better."

Jack chuckled softly under his breath. He didn't know how Ianto did it, but whatever kind of creature turned up, within a couple of hours he'd found food and suitable accommodations.

"I always thought that was a funny name for a girl…." said Tosh, still working on her keyboard.

Gwen, Jack and Ianto turned to stare at her.

"Rudolph isn't a girl," said Ianto.

"They have to be girls," said Tosh. "Both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, but reindeer boys drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually in late November to early December. The girls keep theirs until they've given birth in the spring."

"Where do you find all this stuff?" said Gwen, laughing.

"I read a lot." Tosh shrugged. "Anyway, according to every historical depiction I've seen of Santa's reindeer, none of them could be boys, they've all still got their antlers."

"I knew it!" Gwen grinned broadly, eyes twinkling with mischief as she looked over at the male members of the team. She nudged Tosh. "We should've known... only women would be able to drag a fat-arse man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost."

"On behalf of my gender, oy!" yelled Owen as he emerged from the autopsy bay. "And you get lost all the time."

"Yes, but we're not afraid to ask for directions," Tosh retorted quietly with a small smile pulling at one side of her mouth.

Owen opened his mouth to blast back with what Jack was sure would be a sarcastic response, but the older man headed him off.

"Is he awake yet?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Woke up a couple of minutes ago. He's got a bit of a headache, but seems lucid enough." His expression was strangely unsettled.

"What's wrong?" asked Gwen.

"Well….. he knew my name." He grimaced. "AND he said that I'd been a very naughty boy this year…"

Gwen stifled a laugh behind her hand, and a broad grin spread across Jack's face. Ianto smiled and even Tosh was smirking.

"Oh come on! He must have been able to hear us when I thought he was unconscious!"

"I'm sure that was it… but none of us mentioned your name." said Gwen, immensely enjoying Owen's discomfiture.

"Must have been written down somewhere… anyway, you want to talk to him or not?"

"Hate to think what he's going to say to you, Jack." said Gwen, eyes twinkling.

"Well, when I'm good, I'm really good, but when I'm bad, I'm amazing," he said, winking at her.

"Can't argue with that….." muttered Ianto.

Jack gave him an amused look, and then headed towards the autopsy bay, the rest of the team following.

******

The old man looked up as they entered. Even though he had to be in pain, there was still a glimmer of merriment in his eyes as he waved a hand at them.

"Here you all are! I must thank you for picking me up, that was the strangest thing!" he paused, looking slightly worried. "Are the reindeer alright? Quite the landing, as I recall."

"They're fine," Ianto assured him.

"Good, good. Thank you Ianto, you've always tried to be a good boy. Well, most of the time. Unlike some I could mention." He directed a significant look from under his white, bushy eyebrows at Owen, who glared back. "Now then, if you can just send in Ingner, he can help me up and we'll be on our way. Lots to do tonight, you know, no time to waste."

"See?" said Owen, digging Ianto in the ribs.

"That's somewhat disconcerting, yes."

Gwen had gone down into the bay, and took the old mans hand. "Ingner, was that the friend you had with you?"

"Why yes Gwen, Ingner Torkut, he's my chief elf…. helps me navigate, looks after the list, that sort of thing…" He trailed off as he saw the sympathetic look in Gwen's eyes. "Something awful has happened, hasn't it?" he said, his long, luxuriant white beard quivering slightly.

"I'm sorry, but he was gone when we reached you." Gwen patted his hand. "There was nothing we could do."

"Oh, this is terrible!" Two huge tears welled up in his eyes. "Twenty years he's been with me, boy and elf! His father before him too… Disaster! How am I going to finish tonight without him?"

Reaching into the pocket of his red velvet trousers, he pulled out an enormous red handkerchief with white spots, scrunched it up, and blew his nose loudly. There were, Gwen noticed, little silver bells attached to each corner that jingled gently as they moved.

Gwen glanced over Santa's head at Jack, and was surprised to see a stony expression there. Jack hadn't noticed Gwen's look; his attention was firmly fixed on Santa. Also, she realised, Jack had been careful to stay out of the injured man's line of sight, and was staying quiet, simply observing and listening to what he had to say, letting the others do all the interacting.

Gwen squeezed the old mans hand supportively. "We're going to do everything we can to help."

Santa sniffled a little more. "Thank you Gwen, you've always been a good girl… Well, there was that little episode earlier in the year, but you've done better since then…"

Owen's scowl deepened, and Ianto quickly moved to cover his smile with his hand.

"Okay, I've heard enough. Everybody out." Jack said, finally moving to where Santa could see him.

"Oh ho," said Santa, seeing Jack for the first time. "You on the other hand, have been a very, very naughty boy indeed! And what are you calling yourself this week?"

"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack smiled, a slightly toothy grin which had absolutely nothing to do with humour. "And as for naughty? Yeah, maybe, but I've sure had fun doing it." He glanced at the others, the smile vanishing. "I said out."

The rest trooped back up the stairs, and Jack waited, arms folded, for them to get out of earshot.


	3. Chapter 3

"Well?" asked Tosh as the others reappeared.

"If it's an act, it's a bloody good one," said Gwen. "If I didn't know better, I would swear that was Santa Claus lying down there."

"It's uncanny," said Ianto, leaning against Tosh's desk. "He knew all our names, who'd been naughty or nice, everything!"

"It's creepy," said Owen, still seething. "Anyway, how can he be Santa?? Santa isn't real! I bet that's why Jack kicked us out, wants to get tough with him, find out who he really is, and what he's up to."

Ianto looked at him in amusement. "You're just annoyed because he said you'd been a bad boy."

Owen glared.

"If the wind changes, your face will stick like that."

"Ha. Ha. Ha." said Owen. "Very funny. Just cause one childhood superstition has appeared, there's no need to start all of them up."

"What if he is really real?" said Gwen, sounding wistful. "I mean, how brilliant would that be?"

"There's a theory that in an infinite universe, anything that can be imagined must exist somewhere." said Tosh. "If you add in the rift, and all the different dimensions as well…"

"Are you trying to tell us that you still believe in Santa, Tosh?" asked Owen, just a touch scornfully.

"I didn't say that, Owen." Tosh sniffed. "I just mean that nothing is impossible."

"I'll love to think he was real," said Ianto. "That someone out there had devoted their life to nothing more than making all the kids in the world happy, every year." He shrugged. "I'm going to check on the reindeer, and then see if I can fix the sled. Tosh, want to help?"

"Okay." Tosh stood up. "The readings have all levelled off, and I've hooked the alarms into my earpiece."

The two headed down into the bowels of the Hub.

Gwen glanced at Owen. "So now what?"

"We wait," he said, settling himself into his chair.

*****

Jack shook his head, one arm across his chest cupping his elbow, and rubbed his chin with the other hand. "I gotta say, you're good."

"And as I said, young man, you most definitely are not." said Santa, his expression just a bit disapproving. He shifted his weight slightly, wincing a little as he moved.

"Who are you? And for the record, I'm not exactly young."

"Compared to me you are. I'm exactly who I appear to be. I'm Santa. You can call me Nick, if it would make you feel any better. Or Mr Claus, if you're feeling particularly polite." A ghost of a smile tugged at his mouth. "And you, sir, have got no call making my choice of name an issue. Pot calling the kettle black, indeed!"

"Okay, Nick…" Jack drawled. "What's really going on here?"

Santa sighed, realising that Jack was going to have to be convinced. "I'll tell you some of it, but you are not to say any of this to another living soul."

Jack thought hard for a few seconds, and then nodded once, curtly. "Okay, you got a deal."

Santa shifted again, trying without much success to get comfortable on the hard surface.

"When I washed up here, I was lost." He smiled sadly. "My world as I knew it was gone, and I had nowhere else to go. My friends, my family, they were all beyond my reach, and I had no way of getting back."

Jack nodded. "Go on."

"I looked around this world, and saw so many sad children. I couldn't do anything for my own family any more, but I thought that maybe, I could make a difference here."

He chuckled. "Such imaginations these people have! So when I read about a kindly gent who travelled the world spreading good cheer, I thought, why not? I had the means, I had the technology, and I certainly had the motivation. I can see into souls, can detect the most deserving."

"You're a telepath?"

"Something like that, yes." said Santa, nodding.

"So what am I thinking right now?"

Santa laughed, a big booming sound. "It doesn't quite work that way, Captain Harkness. That belief has to be there. It wasn't always that way, but it seems that the longer I do this, the more necessary it has become, and now, it's vital. My abilities don't seem to work unless someone believes in me. As though I and the role I am playing are gradually becoming one and the same. I can get general impressions, and detect a guilty conscience, but for specifics, they have to believe."

"You need belief?"

"To cut a very long and tedious story short, Captain, I took it upon myself to be that legendary figure. And for seven hundred years, that's exactly what I've done. Every year I travel the world and give presents to the children who need that little bit of happiness most."

"How did you get here?"

"I think you know the answer to that question already."

Jack nodded. The rift. It always came back to the rift. Jack was beginning to see the other man differently. He'd been a con artist for so long that he could just about always tell when he was being played. This definitely didn't feel like one of those times. Despite himself, he was starting to feel some empathy for the sad figure. He made one of the snap decisions he was famous for, complete with an emotional backflip.

"Okay." Jack said. "We'll help you."

"Oh, thank you! You don't know how much this means!" said Santa, grabbing Jacks hand and shaking it soundly.

"Gwen, Owen, get in here!" Jack grinned excitedly at them as they appeared in the doorway.

Gwen looked curious as she took in his change in attitude. "Jack?"

"We're gonna save Christmas!" said Jack gleefully, throwing out an expansive arm.

"Bloody hell," muttered Owen.

"And that, young man, is exactly the sort of thing I was talking about," said Santa, pointing an accusing finger at him.

*******

"Ianto!"

Jack's voice exploded in Ianto's ear, and he jerked violently upwards, colliding with the underside of the sled with a thud that could be heard clear across the room. Tosh winced in sympathy.

Ianto slid out from under the sled, rubbing his forehead where a bruise was already starting to form. He tapped his earpiece.

"Yes Jack? And is it really necessary to scare me silly like that?"

"Uh, sorry… How's the sled coming along?"

Tosh cut in. "We're nearly finished. Just a couple of small things to do, we'll be done in about ten minutes."

"Great, great! When you've fixed it, harness up the reindeer and let me know when you're done!"

Tosh looked at Ianto quizzically, but the young Welshman just shrugged, he'd given up trying to understand Jack almost as soon as he met him.

Shutting his earpiece down, Jack turned back to the group in the autopsy bay. "Owen, when is Santa gonna be well enough to move around?"

"At least four, maybe five hours. That leg won't have a hope of supporting his weight before that."

Santa was looking increasingly distressed. "But that's too late, I'll be far too far behind to finish my rounds!"

Jack grinned. "And that's why we're gonna take over for you! Can you teach me how to drive your sled?"

"Yes, but you'll need an assistant, you can't control it and navigate at the same time, that's where the elves come in."

"Ianto can help me."

Gwen grinned, an idea forming in her mind. She shot off up the steps.

"Where are you going?" said Jack.

She gave him one of her sweetest, most innocent smiles. "I need to go get something, won't be long."

She darted out of sight, and they could hear the alarm as the cog door rolled back.

"Now," Jack said, dismissing whatever it was Gwen was up to from his mind and rubbing his hands together. "How do we drive this thing?"


	4. Chapter 4

Santa took Jack through the basics, and even managed to hook some of the sleds systems into his vortex manipulator so he could monitor them more easily.

"You should be fine," Santa said. "The reindeer will let you know if you're doing it wrong."

"About the reindeer..." Jack had been wondering about this since Tosh had found all the technology in the sled. "What are they for? When we looked the sled over, it looked like it would run fine on its own."

"Ah, but the legend has reindeer." Santa waggled a finger at him. "And that, my dear Captain, is what this was always about. Santa has reindeer. So I have reindeer. Delightful creatures, very intelligent. Well, these ones are- they've been with me for a very long time, and it seems I rub off."

When Ianto returned to report that sled was fixed and the reindeer harnessed, Santa explained how the list worked.

"So it'll show up the next one every time?" asked Ianto, peering at what appeared to be a perfectly normal blank parchment scroll. It was beautifully made, with two carved wooden rods, one at each end, and the spare parchment rolled around them.

"That's right!" Santa tapped the left hand end of the top one. A name and address, along with which present, appeared magically in the centre of the parchment. An arrow also appeared. "All you have to do is make sure Jack follows the arrow. You watch the scroll, he drives. The sled's systems will release the right present from storage, and it will also help you enter the house, it's entirely automated. Very simple indeed."

"And just steer using the reins, right?" said Jack, looking more excited by the second. "Looks like we're good to get this show on the road."

Jack turned away, but was stopped by Gwen skidding back into the room. "Not yet!" she said, handing both Jack and Ianto a bag. "You need to get changed first."

Jack peered into his bag, snapped it shut and shook his head violently, backing away from Gwen. "Oh no. NO WAY! Red is so not my colour."

Ianto was looking unhappily into his bag. "I'll swap you, if you like." He fished out a rakish green hat, complete with pointy ears attached.

Jack gave a nervous laugh. "Uh, on the other hand, maybe I can deal with the red…"

Ianto looked at Santa. "I thought you said no one would be able to see us?"

"Adults can't see you. They don't believe, so the sled cloaks you from them. Children, on the other hand…. I get spotted three or four times every year."

Ianto heaved a huge, resigned sigh, and grabbing Jack's arm propelled them both from the room. "Back in a minute."

Gwen could barely contain her amusement when they two reappeared. Jack was wearing a splendid Santa suit, a curly white wig and a large, wavy, snowy white beard was glued to his chin and top lip with surgical adhesive. They'd tried the hooks over the ears, but Ianto decided it looked too fake, and besides, what would happen if someone pulled on it? Ianto's elf costume had a dark green tunic, light green leggings and a pair of dark green pointed shoes that curled up at the end, and as Gwen looked she could swear his ears were drooping a little miserably.

"That's brilliant, Jack, you even put on the fake eyebrows. But…. there's something missing." Gwen rested her hands on her hips as she eyed Jack critically. "You're too thin."

"You make me wear red, and now you want to make me fat, too?"

"Santa is a big fat bloke, so…." She scooped up a large cushion from the sofa beside the workstations.

"This is not a good look," he groused as he took the cushion and started stuffing it into the front of his tunic.

"I don't know, I think it quite suits you," said Ianto, smirking.

Jack looked at the young elf, a slow lazy grin appearing under his beard. "Why Ianto, you thinking about emptying Santa's-"

"So help me if you finish that sentence Jack Harkness, I will never forgive you!" Gwen snapped. "No, it's too late, that mental image is now one I'm stuck with. Gaaaah."

"Hold it!" Owen's voice snapped from the doorway. As both Jack and Ianto spun around, they heard a click, and saw Owen grinning happily at the screen of his phone. "Oh, that's great. I want to remember this moment forever."

Jack heard Santa mutter quietly behind him that "Christmas is doomed…."

Fortunately for Owen, Tosh picked that moment to trigger the comm system. "Jack, Ianto, you need to get down here- I don't think I can hold onto these reindeer for much longer!"

******

Jack settled himself into the seat, Ianto sliding in beside him clutching the scroll. Rudolph peered over her shoulder, and if a reindeer was capable of looking both shocked and dubious, that's exactly how she looked. The other reindeer appeared to be muttering amongst themselves.

"Don't worry Rudolph!" called Jack happily, "It's only temporary!"

"This is such a bad idea…" moaned Ianto. Jack waggled his fake white eyebrows at him and winked. "Please don't do that, Jack, I'm having a hard enough time with this as it is."

"Come on, Ianto, this is gonna be fun!" If Jack's grin had been any wider, the top of his head would have fallen off. "HO HO HO!"

Ianto studied the scroll carefully. "Right we are then, I've got the first address, it's here in Cardiff."

"Okay Tosh, open the doors!" Jack yelled.

Tosh hit the door controls, and the garage door started to roll upwards.

"On Dasher, on Dancer-"

"Are you really going to go through all their names?"

"Yep. On Prancer and Vixen!-"

"I just don't see that it's really necessary. I mean, they all know who they are…well, unless they took a knock during the crash, but I'm sure I would have noticed if any of them were a bit wobbly by now…. "

"Where's your Christmas spirit? If we're gonna do this, we should do it right."

"My Christmas spirit? It's sitting beside your bottle of brandy up in the office. And I'm glad I had a shot of it before I put this stupid hat on."

"It looks adorable, Ianto." called Gwen from the back of the hanger. "The colour really suits you."

"Does it?"

"Yeah, really brings out the colour of your eyes." Jack shot him an exasperated look. "Would it make you happy if Owen was the elf?"

"Owen?" Ianto was incredulous. "Owen would be a terrible elf. Who ever heard of a grumpy, sarcastic elf?"

"Ah, standing, right here," said Owen who had just brought Santa in to see them off in a wheelchair he'd found. Owen glared at Ianto, who ignored him.

"That's the way Jack, best to get them riled up before takeoff!" called Santa cheerfully. "Good luck!"

"See, look at them- It's getting them all excited!" Jack flashed a dazzling grin at him, and then carried on. "On Comet, on Cupid, ON Donner and Blitzen!"

Ianto had to privately admit to himself that as Jack called their names, the reindeer were getting much more animated. Antlered heads were now tossing all the way up and down the double file, feet were stamping, one or two were pawing at the ground and Ianto could see that the animals were all starting to strain against the traces. Jack's knuckles were whitening as he held the eager animals back. Plus, Jack's enthusiasm was getting infectious. Finally, to his great surprise, now that he was sitting beside Jack wearing his Santa suit in the sleigh he didn't feel quite so silly.

"Okay Rudolph, you know the drill, LET'S GO!" Jack finished with a yell as he let go of the parking brake and the sled shot forward, the animals lifting off the ground with powerful springs of their back legs, snorting joyfully. As the sled lifted, a scatter of golden sparks started, spilling out along the runners and spreading out behind them in a glowing trail as they quickly gathered speed and lifted up higher into the clear, star scattered night sky.

Owen, Santa, Tosh and Gwen stared up from the open door at the receding sight, and the last thing they heard was a faint "Wooo-HOOOOOOO!" from Jack as the sled did a loop the loop before it banked around and headed away. A huge golden circle hung in the sky for a few seconds, and then the glowing trail gently faded away.

Gwen exchanged an amused glance with Tosh. "Do you think they'll enjoy themselves?"

"I'd say Jack already is," smiled Tosh, and hit the button to close down the doors before setting a timer to open them again in four hours when the two were due back.


	5. Chapter 5

"So where to first?" asked Jack, lightly tugging on the reins to slow them down a little.

"34 Llanmaes Street, Grangetown." Ianto unrolled the scroll a bit. "Sarah Bruce, age five. She asked for a My Little Pony Show Stable."

"Okay, which way?"

"Right a bit, then straight over the bay."

Jack angled lower as he cleared the water, and Ianto watched the arrow carefully. Its angle started to change more quickly, indicating the correct house.

"That one!" he shouted, pointing. He yelped as the sled wobbled violently. "What are you doing??"

"Gimme a break, this is the first time I've tried to land on top of a house in a flying sled," growled Jack, brows contracting as he wrestled with the reins. The rooftop was coming up disturbingly fast, and Ianto was torn between horrified fascination and the urge to screw his eyes shut so he didn't see the impact.

At the last second, the sled decelerated sharply, and Rudolph's hooves landed lightly in the snow, leading the rest of the reindeer team behind her. The sled touched down behind them, and slid to a gentle halt beside the chimney. A flat panel set in between the two men glowed briefly, and a gift wrapped box materialised on it. It was pink, sparkly, and adorned with a large silver bow.

"Clever. Oh, and very nice landing, sir, happy to not be dead." Ianto looked at the label. "Yep, to Sarah, from Santa."

Jack hopped out, and Ianto joined him on the rooftop carrying the parcel. He stopped at the chimney. Ianto peered down the hole. "It's going to be a tight fit. Especially with that gut."

"Can't I just take it out?"

"No, you can't. What if she's awake and spots you?"

Jack muttered something Ianto didn't catch, but clambered up onto the chimney, then lowered his legs inside. Dropping himself down with his hands, he slid easily until the lip of the chimney reached his shoulders. He stopped dead.

"Well go on then." said Ianto, getting ready to pass the present down.

Jack squirmed a bit. "Uhhhh…. I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I'm stuck."

"Well get back out and try again."

Jack shifted a little, but didn't move. "Nope, I'm really, really stuck." He was starting to look a little wild eyed. Ianto grabbed Jack's left wrist and hauled on it.

"NNnngggg! Careful!" Jack's arm moved up a little, but the rest of him stayed put.

Ianto could just see Jack's wrist strap, and a light bulb went off in his head. "Santa hooked some stuff into this- can you have a look, see if we've missed something out?"

He gestured at Jack's wrist. "He said the sleds systems were automated, but maybe changing things around to make it easier for us knackered it up a bit. It was meant to help us get in; maybe the system that's meant to do that is on the blink."

Jack craned his head round until he could see his wrist. "You're gonna have to help me, Ianto- open it up and press the button nearest you."

Ianto did as Jack directed, and Jack quickly studied the screen as various readouts flowed past. "Ah, now I see." He quickly took Ianto through a sequence of commands, and as Ianto entered the last one a bright flash obscured the two's vision.

When their sight cleared, they were standing in a living room. A small, somewhat scraggly tree stood in one corner, but was cheerfully covered in tinsel, cheap baubles and little multicoloured lights. The room was clean and tidy, but everything seemed to have seen better days. A glass of milk, two biscuits and a couple of rather old looking carrots were carefully set out on the rickety coffee table. The overwhelming sense Jack got was of people who didn't have much, but made do as best they could. He was quickly beginning to understand why it was that Santa did what he did, and for a moment he felt just a bit small and selfish.

Ianto handed him the parcel, and Jack placed it gently under the tree, his eyes unreadable.

"What's wrong?" asked Ianto, resting one hand on the older mans shoulder. He'd seen Jack's mood change in its mercurial way as the older man had looked around, and was a little worried.

"Nothing." He gave his head a little shake, and glanced up. "Just feeling like I should do more, all of a sudden."

"You do more than enough," said Ianto, smiling gently. "And now, you're doing this. Come on Santa, more kiddies waiting."

Jack straightened up, flipping open his wristband as a half smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You're right, better not disappoint the kiddies."

"Wait, we need to get the-"

Ianto sentence was cut off by a bright flash, and they rematerialised beside the sled.

"……carrots."

Rudolph and the others were gazing eagerly at them, but as the lead reindeer realised they were empty handed, she turned away with a snort of disgust.

"You better apologise," warned Ianto. "She'll never forgive you if you don't. You know what women can be like."


	6. Chapter 6

Jack was nursing a wound on his hand, so Ianto had offered take over the driving for a bit. Jack, however, looking for all the world as though he'd suffered some colossal insult, had refused. He was now moodily staring at the back of Rudolph's head as he guided the sled through the skies over Copenhagen. A faint, hoof shaped bruise was just visible on his cheekbone.

"I told you," said Ianto just a bit smugly. "You should have apologised."

"Hmph."

"Go on, apologise now, I bet she'll lighten up on you."

"We got the carrots from every house since, I'm surprised they can still move; they must have eaten a ton of them by now," said Jack, stubbornly. "I mean, how long can a reindeer stay mad for?"

"That's it." Ianto folded his arms and glared at him. "I'm not spending the rest of this trip being the elf sidekick to a man in a grudge match with a reindeer."

"Okay, okay… I'll do it as soon as we land." Jack admitted defeat. Besides, Jack thought, Ianto looked so damn sexy pouting like that in those ears, Jack couldn't deny him anything. He was beginning to have ideas involving the removal of the costumes. Later. In private. If Ianto had been a good boy… Jack's mind wandered happily until Ianto jolted him back to reality.

"Thanks. It was getting ridiculous. Right then," Ianto seemed mollified, and got back to the job. "We're finished here, time to head for Gothenburg." Ianto checked his watch. By his reckoning, they'd been working for around fifteen hours, but Jack assured him that time was definitely slowed down for them in the sled. After about four hours, they'd had to start eating the mince pies that had been left.

"I hope they leave something else out for us in Gothenburg," Jack muttered as they left the twinkling lights behind and headed back out over the black, storm tossed sea. "Getting kinda bored with mince pies. And if I steal another carrot, Rudolph might actually try to kill me."

"How much time do we have left?"

Jack transferred the reins into his right hand, and flipped up the cover on his vortex manipulator to consult the readout there. "We got another hour and a half. We should make it."

Ianto nodded, though he was starting to feel very, very tired. Jack glanced over. "Why don't you get some sleep until the next stop?"

Ianto was about to protest that he was fine, then saw Jack's knowing look.

"Just forty winks then. You sure we won't get lost?"

"It'll be fine, straight on, hit the coast, turn left. Got it."

One thing that had surprised then both was how warm they were. It seemed the time dilation field also kept a nice constant warm temperature in the sled, and now that they knew they could just land and teleport in, the thin costume wasn't worrying him as much as it had to begin with. He nodded, then shifting slightly, rested his head on Jack's shoulder and closed his eyes. As he relaxed into a doze the last thing he heard was a snort from Prancer as the sled banked to follow Sweden's coast.

Jack smiled down at the sleeping Welshman. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt _happy_. Worse ways to spend a life, he supposed. He settled back to enjoy the ride.

"Iaaaaanto… wakey wakey…" Jack nudged him gently, dislodging his hat in the process. Ianto jolted upright, and narrowly caught his hat before it fell over the side. He jammed it back onto his head, and picking up the scroll, he blearily tried to focus on it.

"I'm just hoping the next ones have left out coffee, that would be nice."

Jack grinned as he tilted the sled down to head for the bright lights of Gothenburg.

"Maybe we'll get lucky."

"Okay, the next is Elias Lindberg, age 7, and he's asked for a skateboard." He paused, thought for a second, and then read out the address. "55 C, Slottsskogsgatan….. what?" Ianto noticed Jack staring at him.

"How the hell did you know how to pronounce that??"

"Easy when you can speak a bit of Welsh… feels like it puts your jaw in a bit of danger from dislocation, though. This lot must be demons at Scrabble, all those consonants." He pointed. "Angle over to the right, looks like it's just on the other side of that church."

As they landed, the skateboard appeared on the panel, and they made quick work of the delivery. Thankfully the little boy had left out cookies instead, and they were grateful for the change. No coffee though, to Ianto's disappointment.

They rematerialised in the sled, and Ianto shoved the carrots into Jacks hands. The bruise was gone, the bite had healed, and all that was left was a faint red mark, which was fading as Ianto watched. "Go on then," said Ianto.

"Go on what?"

"APOLOGISE!"

Jack scowled, he'd hoped Ianto had forgotten. He should have known better, Ianto never forgot _anything_. Ianto chuckled, most of the time Jack seemed so wise and mysterious- but other times, like this one, he reminded him of nothing more than a petulant schoolboy.

"Go on. You might as well get it over with."

Jack glowered at him, but he did stand up and hop over the side. Walking carefully on the snowy rooftop, he reflected that he was glad it was pretty flat. He carefully circled around out of kicking distance, until he was standing in front of the irritated animal. Rudolph steadfastly refused to look at him. Jack looked pleadingly up at Ianto and shrugged. "She won't even look at me."

"Talk to her then," said Ianto. "Tell her you're sorry you were so thoughtless."

Jack was trying to remember the last time he had felt this ridiculous. He quickly came to the conclusion that standing on a frozen Swedish rooftop, dressed as Santa Claus and trying to have a meaningful conversation with an irate reindeer while being berated by a Welsh elf was going to top the list for quite some time.

"Okay…. Rudolph, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have forgotten the carrots. It was thoughtless of me. Can we be friends now?" Jack waggled the carrots hopefully. Rudolph glanced at them, then turned her head away with a sniff.

"I'd say you're going to have to better than that, Jack." Said Ianto, seriously. "I don't think she believes you."

Jack rolled his eyes skyward and thought _why me? Okay…_. He crouched down.

"Rudolph, you're a fabulous reindeer. You're a great leader, your nose is adorable and I promise I will get you all the carrots you can eat when we get back to the Hub. Santa is really lucky to have you." He raised his free hand to stroke her nose, but hurriedly snatched it back when she curled her lip a bit menacingly. "Come on Rudolph, we're all on the same team. I'm sorry, okay?"

Rudolph deigned to look sidelong at him, obviously considering what he's just said. There was a moment of indecision, then she darted forward and licked his face, before gently taking the carrot from his outstretched hand.

"Friends?"

She nodded, munching away happily.

"There Ianto, we're all buddies again." he said as he made his way back to the sled. "That was kinda gross," he muttered, and stealthily wiped his face with his sleeve while his back was still to the now much happier reindeer. He gathered up the reins. "Next?"

"Avrid Nilsson, age four," said Ianto, "Over that way…."

The sled took off once again.


	7. Chapter 7

Back at the Hub, Santa was taking his first ginger steps. He'd been offered the aid of a stick, but had declined.

"No need, it's best if I just have a good go at it. I know what I'm doing, things have happened before, you know."

Gwen and Owen were either side of him, ready to catch him if he wobbled. Owen was still amazed at the speed the break had healed. He knew Jack had something special in his makeup that made him heal fast, but Owen had never encountered it in anyone else.

Santa tottered sideways a little, but Gwen caught his arm before he could completely overbalance.

"It's okay, I've got you."

"Thank you my dear, it's been a while since anything as quite bad as this has happened." He winced as he put his weight back onto the injured leg. "It's definitely on the mend though!"

"Will you two be okay?" Owen chucked a thumb in the direction of the autopsy bay. "There's erm, some stuff I need to get done down there… would probably be best if you stayed up here with Gwen though, Santa."

"What?" Santa looked a little confused, then he realised what Owen was getting at. "Ah, of course." He looked downcast, and Gwen squeezed his arm and smiled at him.

"Come on, we can walk around a little more, give you the tour, and I'll introduce you to Myfanwy." Gwen nodded upwards.

"Oh yes? And who is the delightful Myfanwy?"

"She's our pet pteradon."

"You don't say? How marvellous! I thought they were extinct!"

"Not everywhere…"

Having decided that Gwen and Santa could get along just fine without him, Owen made his escape, and headed down to have a look at Ingner's corpse. He put his labcoat back on, set the recorder running and powered up his diagnostic systems.

Everything ready, he pulled on a pair of gloves and then bent down, opened the fridge door and rolled out the tray containing the unfortunate elf. Grunting, he transferred the small body onto the table, and as he did, noticed something. By his reckoning, the elf had been dead for about six to seven hours, and that was more than enough time for rigor mortis to have started to set in. However, the elf's body was still decidedly floppy, there didn't seem to be any sign of it at all. Not only that, given the amount of time the body had been the fridge, it didn't seem cold enough.

He peered at the elf, then peeled open one of his eyelids and was shocked to see the iris react to the light. It was sluggish, but the reaction was definitely there. He grabbed a torch, and flicked it on, opening the other eye and shining the light on it. This was also sluggish, but due to the increased light strength it reacted faster than the first.

"Now that _is_ weird." He muttered to himself.

He checked for a pulse, but could feel nothing, and the elf certainly didn't seem to be breathing. Turning to his computer, he instructed it to set a few scans running. Sucking air in through his teeth, he folded his arms against his chest and waited for the results. Whether the old man really was Santa or not, Owen didn't want to get his hopes up. The young doctor's bedside manner could sometimes leave a little to be desired, but even he wasn't _that_ tactless.

*****

Gwen had just gotten Santa settled down on the sofa and was about to make him a cup of tea when Owen appeared, a wide smile on his face. Tosh glanced up at him curiously from her computer… what on earth could have made Owen so happy while doing an autopsy?

"Come on, you three, you need to see this!"

Tosh and Gwen helped Santa to his feet, and the slowly made their way into the lower level, following Owen who'd gone on ahead. Gwen's heart sank as they went through the doorway and she saw the still form lying on the table. She saw tears well up in Santa's eyes, and his lower lip tightened as he clenched his jaw.

"Owen, how could you?" she snapped, starting to turn away and guide the old man back out.

"What? No no no, look at this." He excitedly pointed at the screens. "I'm not completely certain, but I don't think he's really dead!"

Gwen and Tosh helped Santa down the steps, and the three clustered around Owen's computer. He stabbed a finger at one of the diagnostic readouts.

"Look at this- all his injuries have vanished! He was really beat up when we brought him in, but now?"

"Oooooooh! Maybe the sled had something to do with this!" Santa clapped a palm to his forehead. "It could have…. It hasn't before, but I always thought it was possible that…"

"What can it do?" asked Tosh, curiously.

"Ah young lady, I'm sorry, but there are some secrets I'm keeping to myself," he said, quirking an eyebrow and waggling an admonitory finger at her. "Let's just call it Christmas magic, and leave it at that."

Tosh didn't look too happy at his response, but she nodded gracefully.

"So will he wake up on his own then?" asked Gwen, eyes shining.

"No my dear, I believe he'll need a bit of a jolt first, and that will have to wait until your companions return from their errands. But this is marvellous!" Rubbing his hands together happily, he glanced out in the direction they had gone. "I wonder how they're getting on…"


	8. Chapter 8

Jack smiled a little sadly as the sled swooped back down towards Cardiff. They had one last house to visit, and then it would all be over. They'd head back to the Hub, hand Rudolph and her pals back to their master, and that would be that.

"Left a bit!" said Ianto. "There it is… 70 Clive Road, Canton. Rhodri Evans, age 8."

Shaking off his bout of melancholy, Jack decided to enjoy this last one to the full.

"So what did he ask for?"

"Let's see," said Ianto, peering at the scroll. "Oh, that's nice. He's asked for a Spider-Man outfit. I like Spider-Man," he finished, happily.

Jack smirked, and stored that piece of information away for future reference. He could see definite possibilities, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it.

Jack was by now quite the expert at landing on rooftops, and he neatly dropped them down onto the gable. The present appeared, Ianto scooped it up, and Jack activated the sled's short range teleport.

They found themselves in a pleasant warm room. The tree was glowing in the corner, soft rugs were scattered over the floor, and a large comfortable looking sofa occupied most of one wall, standing just in front of a radiator. Jack looked around, it had been a long time since he'd had a home like this, but he could remember what it was like. He felt Ianto's hand find his and give it a squeeze. Turning his head, he saw the young Welshman smiling at him.

"Been fun, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it really has." said Jack, leaning in to kiss him. Just before their lips met, they heard a small, but very identifiable sneeze, followed by a frightened squeak. Startled, they broke apart, and Jack pointed at the sofa, raising his other hand and putting one finger up to his lips.

The former time agent snuck silently around the side of the couch, hunkered down, and craned his head around the corner to look behind it. A small, dark haired boy was incredulously staring back at him, his eyes like saucers.

"Ho Ho Ho!" said Jack, immediately getting into character, "What have we here? Aren't all the boys and girls meant to be asleep, Ianto-the-elf?"

"Why yes Santa," Ianto grinned back, "I believe they are."

"What do you have to say for yourself then….." he groped for the name.

"Rhodri." Ianto helpfully supplied.

"Thanks Ianto." Jack straightened up, and beckoned Rhodri out from behind the couch. "Well Rhodri? Why aren't you in bed?"

Rhodri crawled out and stood up, hands clasped behind his back, head down looking at the floor and digging into the carpet with the toe of one slipper. It had a picture of Spider-Man on it, Jack noted, as did his pyjamas. He mumbled something unintelligible.

"What was that?" asked Jack, grinning. Rhodri spoke a little louder, and his response came out in a rush.

"DafyddJoneStold metherewasno suchthingasSanta andyourparentsjustmadehimup."

"Woah, woah," said Jack, raising his hands palm outward. "Slow down!"

Rhodri took a deep breath, and started over, slowly gaining confidence.

"I said, Dafydd Jones told me there was no such thing as Santa and your parents just made him up." He stared owlishly up at the tall, bearded man. "So I got up after my mam and dad went to bed and hid. I wanted to see if he was right."

"Ahhhh…" said Jack. "And what do you think now?"

"I think Dafydd's a prat."

Ianto started to laugh, but as Jack's head snapped round and glared at him, he quickly turned it into a cough and hid his smile behind his hand. "Sorry, Santa, carry on."

Jack turned back to the boy, and was disturbed to see a quivering lip and tears starting to form.

"What's wrong Rhodri?" He hunkered back down until their faces were at the same level. Ianto pressed a handkerchief into Jack's hand, and Jack wondered for a second where on earth Ianto could have been carrying it, but he shrugged to himself and gave it to the little boy. Rhodri sniffed, wiped his eyes, and then blew his nose before finally looking at Jack.

"Does this mean I won't get my present?" he said in a tiny voice. "Cause I know being up and seeing you is pretty bad, and bad boys don't get presents."

Jack felt his heart clench, and rubbed at his eyes, which seemed to have inexplicably gotten a bit blurry. He heard Ianto quietly sniffle behind him.

"Tell you what Rhodri," he said gently, "I'll make you a deal. You go straight to bed now, and you tell Dafydd that he was wrong when you get back to school, and I'll leave you a present. That work for you?"

Rhodri nodded eagerly, and when Jack stuck out his right hand, Rhodri shook on it.

"Okay, deal!" he ruffled the boy's hair, then stood up. "Now, bed!"

"Can't believe Santa is an American! Wait 'till I tell Dafydd!"

And with that Rhodri scampered off out the room, and the two heard his bedroom door quietly close. Jack put the parcel under the tree, Ianto grabbed the carrots and mince pies and Jack triggered the teleport again.

As Jack urged Rudolph back up into the sky, Ianto chuckled.

"You're a big softy sometimes, you know that?"

"Don't spread it around, I got a rep to protect." said Jack, gruffly.

"Not from me though." Ianto's eyes were full of emotion as he looked Jack, the older man would always be full of surprises, it seemed. "Good job there, Santa."

Jack snorted, but he did smile back. "Time to go home," he murmured, and steered the sled out over the bay, angling for Roald Dahl Plass.


	9. Chapter 9

As they swooped into the storage bay through the open doors, they had quite the welcoming committee. Gwen, Owen, Tosh and Santa were all eagerly waiting for them, and Santa hurried up to them as they jumped out of the sled.

"Well my boy? How did it go?"

"It went fine," Jack assured him. "We got everything done that you needed, you should be okay now."

"Did any of the children see you? There's always at least one curious little blighter."

"Only one," said Ianto. "But Jack came to an arrangement with him, seemed to work okay. He thinks Santa's a yank now though."

Jack grinned. "But I'd say you'll get plenty of belief from that one for a while."

Ianto had noticed the gurney with its sad burden standing just inside the door. He looked questioningly at Gwen. "Why's that-" but Gwen raised a finger, and interrupted him.

"Wait and see," she said, smiling.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Santa bustled forward, and stooping, opened a small hatch at the back of the sleigh. Reaching inside, he groped around then withdrew his hand. It was full of what looked like sparkling, golden sand.

He hurried back to the gurney. "Owen, if you please?"

Owen grabbed the sheet and pulled it back, revealing Ingner's head and shoulders. The team gathered around, watching. Owen, Gwen and Tosh had some idea of what was coming, but Jack and Ianto were both looking confused.

"What's going on?" asked Jack, just as Santa blew the golden dust into Ingner's face. The elf gave a massive shudder, sat bolt upright, and his eyes snapped open. They then scrunched shut again as he gave a massive sneeze. Then another. After five in total, they finally stopped, and Ingner opened his eyes and looked around, expression a little dazed.

"He was dead!" yelped Ianto, face paling in shock.

"I know," smirked Owen. "Brilliant, isn't it? Glad I was wrong this time."

"Ingner, good to see you again my boy!" said Santa, and hugged the startled elf.

"What happened? Where are we? And why are those big goons dressed like us?"

"I'll explain everything on the way. We still have much to do, and not a lot of the night left to do it in." As Ingner hopped down from the gurney, Santa turned to Jack, and proffered his hand. "Thank you Captain." He winked, then spun around to the rest of the team. Shaking each hand in turn, he smiled. "Thank you, all of you. You've restored my faith in the grownups of this world, and that is no small feat."

He headed toward his sled, and Ingner scurried after him. They settled themselves in place, and before they could leave, Jack walked up and crouched down in front of Rudolph.

"You look after him now, you hear?"

Nodding enthusiastically, the ecstatic reindeer licked him again. Jack laughed, wiped his face, and gave her ears a scratch.

"We really must be going, Captain!" Santa called.

"Sorry." He jumped back out of the way as the sled began to move, the reindeer galloping off into the sky. The last thing they heard as it climbed up out of sight was a hearty "HO! HO! HO! Meeeeerry CHRISTMAS!"

Tosh closed down the doors. "So?"

"We'll tell you tomorrow." said Ianto. "I'm sorry Tosh, but I'm knackered."

"Ianto's right, we all need sleep." Jack hugged each one in turn. "Merry Christmas. Now go home, speak to the people you care about, snuggle with them, whatever, and take tomorrow off."

*****

Jack glanced over at the clock, and saw that it was just after five in the morning. An exhausted Ianto was curled into his side, head resting on Jack's shoulder and one of his arms was draped across Jack's chest. Their costumes were scattered all over his quarters, and he sighed happily as he pillowed his head on his free arm and gazed up at the ceiling. Tonight had been _good_. This was one he'd remember, hopefully forever… he clamped down on that train of thought, before idly letting his mind wander through the evenings events, then stiffened as he heard a tiny noise. Straining his ears, he listened carefully.

A quiet scuffing noise came from the side of the small tree that Ianto had insisted on setting up. Jack moved carefully, not wanting to disturb the slumbering Welshman, and raising himself on his elbow, looked over at the tree. A slow grin spread over his face as he recognised the shadowy figure.

"I thought you had kids to visit?" he said in a low voice, though he was pretty sure it would take nothing short of a nuclear explosion to wake his exhausted boyfriend.

Santa emerged into the light from the tree, and smiled.

"All done now Jack, you two did very well." He gestured back behind him. "But I thought, as you all believe now, I would leave you a little thank you."

Jack looked fondly down at Ianto. "I've got all the Christmas present I need right here."

"Be that as it may, I felt it was appropriate. Many children would have been disappointed without all of you, and you did wonderfully."

He reached into his waistcoat, and withdrew a beautifully engraved silver watch. Popping it open, he noted the time, snapped it shut and replaced it.

"Time I was off. Keep an eye out, maybe you'll see me next year." He winked, and then with a flash of light, he vanished.

Jack snuggled back down beside Ianto, a faint smile ghosting over his lips. _Merry Christmas indeed…_ was his last thought before sleep finally overtook him.

*****

On Christmas morning, every single member of the team woke up to a present that said "From Santa." on the label. And without exception, it was just what they'd always wanted.

Well, everyone except Owen, because despite all evidence to the contrary, he still doesn't believe in Santa.

Oh, and he's been a very, very naughty boy.

THE END

Come on, you didn't think I'd let it finish with Santa having to cart off a dead elf with him did you? For shame! Merry Christmas everybody!


End file.
